Ephesians 4:25–5:2

Year B - Pentecost +11 or Energy to Witness ¹¹

August 9, 2015

Ephesians 4:25–5:2

In a context of putting away falsehood because we are members of one another and the confusion of falsehood diminishes community and common good—it is important to note that anger is not a falsehood. Anger here is a clarifier of relationship and an on-going opportunity to identify where forbearance and forgiveness are needed. Anger recognizes difference and an expectation of privilege that needs to be checked in order to affirm or correct our larger values.

There is a falsehood alert to be aware of in the context of structural lies. We often tell ourselves that one measurable result is more important than another. In economics it is the amount of collectibles we can pile around ourselves as defense against ever having to settle for the edginess of enough. In this it turns out that labor and honest work with hands doesn’t count. Jobs are relocated or discontinued through a next round of technology. Wages are held low so profits can grow for money managers.

In the midst of a community this is one of the ways we tell whether an economic, educational, political, industrial, . . . system is healthy in the long-term—is manual labor honored. If not there are lies aplenty going around about how it is we live together and where the ultimate value of work resides. If laborers do not have enough to share with the needy, there is something drastically wrong with the models we are trusting in and they will, soon enough, let us down with a crash.

Both our words and our community building can grieve a spirit of life. Both can rejoice that same spirit. The measurable difference is “kindness”. If you are going to posit G*D’s steadfast love as constituent of said G*D, what shift needs to happen with your modeling, partnering, imitating that same mercy in your life?